This quintet bears the stamp of a light, genial divertimento; on the other hand one senses Mozart as a brilliant young composer just starting to test his wings, to investigate his own potential for surprise and innovation.
Consider Mozart’s opening melody: cheerful and pleasant, it has its head bitten off after a few bars by a brusque tutti retort; after this, the first violin more tentatively finds its way to a more natural cadence, but that moment is simultaneously the re-launching of this melody, this time in the first viola. This dovetailing of beginning and end, which was to become a hallmark of Mozart’s technique, is an effect we can too easily take for granted.
The slow movement is solemn and lovely, and is distinguished by the use of mutes and by a simple idea played in unison – first it is the melody, then it becomes the gentle accompaniment for a more expressive melody in the first violin. Especially noteworthy in this movement is a sudden, anguished outbreak in the second half of the movement, which leads through a series of contorted suspensions before the music finds its way back to the moment of return.
In the Finale, we have an especially interesting glimpse into Mozart’s creative process: the bravura figure that opens the movement in the first draft survives in the final version, but is “demoted” to the role of a later transitional idea, and a more innocent, tripping melody becomes the first theme. This movement has an unusual number of carefree melodic ideas, and underscores more than the other movements the divertimento-like quality of the work as a whole.
I invite you to listen to this delightful Quintet:
